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1860-'61.] Document No. 32. 2;i
materially increased the estimate over wliat we have good
reason to believe it will turn out upon construction ; but be-lieving
it always better to present the dark as well as the
bright side of the subject, the estimate provides for the worst
possible contingencies, not only in regard to quality of ma-terial,
but the quantities and their prices. The cost of this
line of 135-^ miles of road being §35,971 per mile, may bo
alarming to some ; yet, let us compare its cost with that of
other roads in our sister States, which have either been built,
or are now being built.
The Virginia and Kentucky railroad, of 13 1| miles, is esti-mated
to cost |38,000 per mile. The Rlue Ridge railroad of
195 miles, ,$39,613 per mile ; whilst the Covington and Ohio
railroad, 221 miles, now under construction, will cost $47,-
000 per mile. If the construction of these roads will justify
this expenditure, will not a great national line of travel, and
the development of such a country, M'^arrant the construction
of this road at the estimated cost?
The portion of the State situated west of the Blue Ridge,
is larger than some of the States of the Union ; it is proper-ly
the New England of the South—a soil more fertile, pro-ductions
of the soil the same ; mineral productions far supe-rior
; water power for manufacturing purposes equal, if not
superior; a climate more salubrious, because free from the
evil eff'-cts of extremes of heat and cold.
Shall a country with such remarkable characteristics re-main
in a state of nature, and go undeveloped for want of a
railroad ?
At the western terminus of this line is situated the min-ing
district of Ducktown, at present cut off from railway fa-cilities
but containing a population of over four thousand
inhabitants. The yield from these mines in one year, was
29,000 tons c»f copper ore, worth in tlic New York market
$1,218,000.
The cost of transportation of these vast quaiitities, together
with the supplies rendered necessary for their production,

1860-'61.] Document No. 32. 2;i
materially increased the estimate over wliat we have good
reason to believe it will turn out upon construction ; but be-lieving
it always better to present the dark as well as the
bright side of the subject, the estimate provides for the worst
possible contingencies, not only in regard to quality of ma-terial,
but the quantities and their prices. The cost of this
line of 135-^ miles of road being §35,971 per mile, may bo
alarming to some ; yet, let us compare its cost with that of
other roads in our sister States, which have either been built,
or are now being built.
The Virginia and Kentucky railroad, of 13 1| miles, is esti-mated
to cost |38,000 per mile. The Rlue Ridge railroad of
195 miles, ,$39,613 per mile ; whilst the Covington and Ohio
railroad, 221 miles, now under construction, will cost $47,-
000 per mile. If the construction of these roads will justify
this expenditure, will not a great national line of travel, and
the development of such a country, M'^arrant the construction
of this road at the estimated cost?
The portion of the State situated west of the Blue Ridge,
is larger than some of the States of the Union ; it is proper-ly
the New England of the South—a soil more fertile, pro-ductions
of the soil the same ; mineral productions far supe-rior
; water power for manufacturing purposes equal, if not
superior; a climate more salubrious, because free from the
evil eff'-cts of extremes of heat and cold.
Shall a country with such remarkable characteristics re-main
in a state of nature, and go undeveloped for want of a
railroad ?
At the western terminus of this line is situated the min-ing
district of Ducktown, at present cut off from railway fa-cilities
but containing a population of over four thousand
inhabitants. The yield from these mines in one year, was
29,000 tons c»f copper ore, worth in tlic New York market
$1,218,000.
The cost of transportation of these vast quaiitities, together
with the supplies rendered necessary for their production,